Prescription Opioid Production Mandates

In the United States, we are responsible for using the world’s market share of prescription opioid. It would be one thing if our country had a population that compared to China or India, but the 2016 estimated population of the United States is 322,762,018 (roughly 5 percent of the world population) according to an end-of-year estimate from the U.S. Census Bureau. While efforts continue to limit the number of prescriptions written for painkillers, as well as the size and number of refills, the U.S. is just as dependent as ever upon opioids.

It is a double edged sword that has resulted in the worst drug epidemic in history. On the one hand, people need adequate pain management, and the other hand pain medications are both addictive and deadly. Yet, seemingly with caution to the wind prescription opioids continue to be both manufactured and prescribed in excess in the United States. The most common prescription opioids used and abused include:

Curbing Painkiller Production

Over the last several years, there have been calls to curtail the amount of prescription painkillers produced every year. And, as you might have imagined, pharmaceutical companies have done their best to prevent production restrictions. However, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has placed new mandates on the amount of prescription opioids that can be produced, HealthDay reports. The DEA says that we should see a 25 percent decrease at least in 2017. Through production limitations, hopefully it will result in fewer of such drugs ending up in the wrong hands.

Just to give you an idea of how often prescription opioids are diverted to people without prescriptions, data from the 2015 National Survey on Drug Use and Health showed that 6.5 million Americans older than 12 had used an opioid without a prescription in the last month, according to the article. Such high pill diversion rates are likely the result of doctors writing prescriptions for more of a drug than a patient requires.. Several government agencies, including the DEA, have called upon doctors to change their prescribing practices.

“For years, DEA and others have been educating practitioners, pharmacists, manufacturers, and the public about the potential dangers of the misuse of opioid medications,” the DEA said.

Opioid Addiction Recovery

It is widely agreed upon that the best weapon for fighting the opioid epidemic is addiction treatment services. They could outlaw prescription opioids tomorrow, and opioid addicts would still find a way to maintain their habit—by way of heroin. Treatment can break the cycle of addiction and give millions of Americans a fighting chance at recovery. Please contact Synergy Group Services today, to begin the journey of recovery.